Pope Francis has rightly captured headlines for his blistering apology to Indigenous peoples. He courageously confronted the Catholic Church’s own historic injustices. He welcomed a delegation from Canada’s First Nations, Inuit, and Métis peoples to the Vatican in 2022. In the course of this meeting, he gave them a very sincere apology. In so doing, this gesture stands against the legacy of colonialism. Its intent is to promote healing among Indigenous communities.
The Pope’s apology is a direct response to one of the top calls to action issued by Canada’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission. This commission pushed him to face the church’s complicity in the abuse that took place in residential schools run by Catholics. These institutions sought to forcibly assimilate Indigenous children, sometimes through lethal methods. These children frequently faced emotional, physical and sexual abuse as a byproduct. Four months after the Vatican meeting, Pope Francis traveled to Canada to deliver a public apology directly to affected communities.
Taylor Behn-Tsakoza is a young Dene woman from the Fort Nelson First Nation. She was one of the congressional delegation and reflected on what it was like to meet the Pope. Her heart was lifted by his good faith intent to listen to and learn from their stories. The reaction to the Pope’s apology has been far from uniform among Indigenous people, both nationally and here in Canada.
The Vatican Meeting
At the close of the meeting at the Vatican, Pope Francis offered a heartfelt apology for the church’s history of atrocities against Indigenous peoples. He stated, “I apologised, I asked forgiveness for this activity, which was genocide,” emphasizing the gravity of the church’s role in taking children away from their families and trying to erase their cultures.
Behn-Tsakoza recalled her time with the Pope, saying that he was clearly moved by their conversations.
“I felt like he was really just taking in everything that we were sharing and that it was really touching him.” – Taylor Behn-Tsakoza
Most importantly, she continued, his acknowledgement of their experiences is the first step in true reconciliation.
“Honouring that request I think speaks volumes to who he was as a person, and to how deeply impacted he was from hearing our stories.” – Taylor Behn-Tsakoza
Her reflections illustrate a hopeful perspective from the gathering, one that echoes her sense of change in the air and shift toward positive transformation.
Responses to the Apology
Though many Indigenous leaders lauded the Pope’s apology, others were not persuaded that his apology met them where they were at. Matthew Wildcat, an assistant professor and director of Indigenous governance at the University of Lethbridge, welcomed the apology but decried its implementation. He pointed out that the text of the apology was flawed, suggesting it lacked certain elements necessary for a complete acknowledgment of past wrongs.
Wildcat’s family has personal ties to the residential school system, with at least three generations impacted by its policies. He stated, “The apology in my mind satisfied the recommendation of the call to action, and I feel like it’s time to work, to move forward with other work of reconciliation.”
That feeling of disappointment translates to greater wishes heard among many Indigenous leaders for more conversation and action behind the hollow “sorry”s.
The Broader Context of Apologies
Pope Francis’s apology adds to a long history of acknowledgement and apology by leaders of the church for the church’s role in these colonial practices. In 2001, Pope John Paul II prayed publicly for forgiveness for the Church’s involvement in colonialism. Aside from offering an apology, he wanted to atone for the injustices of the past. Likewise, on his visit to Bolivia in 2015, the Pope called out the “grave sins” of colonization.
The current Pope’s acknowledgment of the Doctrine of Discovery—a set of papal bulls from the 15th century that justified colonial expansion—has been particularly significant. Behn-Tsakoza said he felt deeply the need to apologize. His goal was to change the narrative in a deep, meaningful way that centers Indigenous sovereignty.
“He was rewriting history in a way that respected Indigenous people and that actually gave onus to our sovereignty over our land,” – Taylor Behn-Tsakoza
Earlier in 2023, respected Elder Miriam-Rose Ungunmerr Baumann spoke to Pope Francis in the Vatican. Above all, she wanted justice for the removal of her sister from their family. It was because of those destructive residential school policies.
Moving Forward
Pope Francis’s approach has opened up fruitful conversations on how to most effectively respond to historical wrongs while working to find ways forward in reconciliation. The varied reactions from different Indigenous leaders suggests there’s more engagement needed and conversations to have.
As communities begin to unpack these apologies, they recognize that words are not enough without action behind the apology. The demand for change is still urgent from those fighting for justice, reparations, and acknowledgment of historic harms.
